


Adrien Learns How to Ride a Bike

by noaoats



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, a little bit of ladynoir fluff at the beginning, exactly as the title says adrien learns how to ride a bike, it's really just fluff and competitiveness, mostly adrienette fluff, post-reveal, the main four play manhunt, they're a supportive and gooey couple and that's the hill i'm going to die on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2020-10-10 05:41:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20522858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noaoats/pseuds/noaoats
Summary: Marinette learns that her boyfriend can't ride a bike.She decides to fix that.





	1. Chapter 1

Ladybug knew that her powers and identity were based on the concept of good luck, but sometimes she just felt _really _lucky.

She was currently on a beam near the top of the Eiffel Tower with her head in her boyfriend’s lap. The two had ended patrol early and were content to spend time together before each had to return to their homes. Ladybug’s eyes were closed as she rested. Chat was humming a song and dragging his fingers through her hair while looking down over the city.

His claws scratched gently on her scalp and her toes wiggled in bliss. “What are you humming?” she asked.

“A song my mother used to sing when I was younger. I was afraid of storms, so she’d sing to keep me calm if it began to thunder. I don’t remember the words, but the tune gets stuck in my head from time to time.”

“It’s beautiful. Maybe we can try to look the song up sometime.”

Chat separated a portion of hair and began to braid it. “I would love that.”

She willed herself to stay awake. She had despised going to bed as a kid and her mother had always played with her hair to help her fall asleep. During sleepovers she loved to play with Alya’s hair, but occasionally the other girl would braid hers and it would knock her out. The comfort of being with Chat coupled with the warm afternoon sun was making it difficult not to drift to sleep hundreds of feet above Paris.

Chat’s voice roused her as he continued talking. “We still haven’t planned our date for Saturday. My father confirmed again that I could take a few hours off so I’m free until evening. _And _the weather is supposed to be nice. What do you want to do? Hang out up here?”

“Hmm. I’m not sure,” she said. “We haven’t gone on many dates as ourselves, you know? We’re always transformed. We could… watch a movie. Or go swimming, since cats love the water so much.”

“Ha. Ha.”

“What about a bike ride along the Seine? We could go until we find a nice spot for a picnic. I’ll bring a blanket for us to sit on and some food. Or we could try to cook something together beforehand if you have time! My bike has a basket.”

He paused while braiding her hair. “Um… what about a picnic at the park near your house?”

“I mean, we could, I just figured it would be nice to try something new. That’s where we always eat lunch during school, plus bike rides are fun! I haven’t ridden mine much since I was a kid, and even then I really only ever used it to bike over to Nino’s house for playdates.”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s just that…” His voice sounded strained, and she opened her eyes to see if he was okay. His forehead was creased in thought and his cheeks were pink. “Um. We could just walk, instead. And not go as far since I can’t stay for too long.”

She giggled. “What, don’t tell me you can’t ride a bike.”

When he grimaced again the smile dropped from her face. She had made a major mistake. “Oh. Oh, Chat, I didn’t mean to-”

“No!” he interrupted. His face turned red as he realized that he had cut her off, and he patted her forehead awkwardly as if to apologize. “No, don’t feel bad, it’s okay. It’s just kind of embarrassing, is all. What kind of kid our age doesn’t know how to ride a bike?”

She pushed his hand aside and sat up next to him. “Lots of people! It’s nothing to be embarrassed about!”

“Yeah, I bet. Name one other person.”

“I… Alright.” Ladybug looked around dramatically as if to ensure no one could hear them way up on the tower, making Chat laugh. She leaned closer to whisper. “You can’t tell anyone, okay? I was sworn to secrecy, and I know for a fact that this person will hunt me down if they find out I told you. We made this blood pact back in CE 2. You mean a lot for me to break a promise like that.”

“_Blood pact?_”

She shrugged. “We were wrestling and gave each other bloody noses. We wiped the blood on our hands and then made a pinky promise. It was very serious when we were eight.”

His nose crinkled. “That’s disgusting.”

“Eh, we were kids. More importantly, do you swear to take this secret to the grave?”

“Yes,” he said. “Yes. Please. Tell me this life and death secret. What other poor soul can’t ride a bike?”

Her voice dropped even lower. “Kim. Kim can’t ride a bike.”

Chat looked stunned. He stared at her for a few moments. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. And not even Alix knows that.”

“Huh.”

“So you see!” She bumped shoulders with him. “If even the great Kim can’t ride a bike, it’s obviously not that big of a deal. Did it scare you as a kid? Or did you forget how to do it?”

“Well, firstly, it _is _a big deal if you literally exchanged blood over it. Seriously, that’s just wrong.” He looked down at his hands in his lap. “And secondly, no. I just never learned. My parents were going to teach me, but then my mom disappeared, and my father… The Gorilla tried once but he obviously didn’t know how to teach. He just told me to put on a helmet and go, and I didn’t know what to do with that. Then I was banned from ‘dangerous activities’ that could ruin my modeling career.”

Ladybug fell silent, processing her partner’s words. Knowing how to ride a bike wasn’t the most important skill a person could have, but it was one that had brought her a lot of joy. She also knew how much Adrien loved being able to transform and race around, and biking could bring a similar sense of freedom in his civilian form. He was also rich enough to buy a bike without any hassle if he ended up loving it.

Her mind was made up.

“Alright, that’s it. This Saturday, I’m teaching you how to ride a bike.”

-

“Marinette, I don’t know about this.”

Adrien was sitting uncomfortably on her bike, tilted to one side as he shifted around on the seat. She had switched the bike’s gears and elevated the seat to accommodate him but the whole thing felt awkward. He did like the bike’s design, though- it was a pretty light blue with small gold bells on the handles. Clinking them had been fun at first, but now that he was actually about to ride they felt like they were in the way of his hands.

“Don’t be a scaredy-cat.” Marinette handed him a matching blue helmet. “I promise to help you, and I’ll run alongside you when you go, okay? If you begin to panic just… fall on me and I’ll catch you.”

“I’m not going to crush you with a bike!”

She flipped a hand. “Whatever, I’ve been through worse. You’re the model that can’t get banged up. Alright, so put this on your head. It clicks under your chin; you want it to be tight but not uncomfortable.”

Adrien followed her directions. He had assumed that the helmet would feel strange on his head, but he was used to so many weird head pieces from modeling that he barely noticed it. His girlfriend rapped on the side of it once it was in place and he rolled his eyes. “It’s on, Mari.”

“Just checking. Okay, so getting started… I’m actually not sure what the best way to explain this is.” Her eyes darted back to the bakery across the street. “Wait! I have an idea!”

He knew that look. “Don’t leave me here on the bike!” he hissed. It was too late, though. She had already sped off in the direction of her home and left him stranded in the middle of the park. He still didn’t know what he was doing, but having her there had made him feel less awkward. He avoided the looks of other groups strolling past and shifted his weight from foot to foot. Was it weird for people to just stand around on a bike? He had never noticed, but he also had never paid attention to it. He was sure that he looked stupid. 

Just as he was about to climb off and walk the bike back here was a _thump _to his right and he turned to see Marinette sprawled on the ground. She just jumped back up and kept going. In her hands was a giant, empty box. “We have so many of these from all the ingredients we order. I thought this might be easier.” She plopped it down next to him and sat down on it, lifting her hands to grab onto imaginary handlebars. “See?”

He snorted. “Love your bike.”

“Thanks, cardboard is in this season.” She winked. “Okay, so you move forward by pushing the pedals like this.” Her feet rotated next to the box in a circle, and he looked down at the real pedals near his feet. That seemed simple enough. “You have to do some balancing at the start, but once you get going the bike just takes off.”

“What if I start to tilt?”

“Well, you either fall or you don’t. But seriously, once you get some momentum you’ll be fine. And you steer with the handles, like this.” She demonstrated and he copied her with the real handles, twisting the front wheel against the pavement. “To stop…” She leaned back and bit her lip. “Hmm. Normally there are brakes on the handles you can squeeze to stop. It’s those small silver things there. But mine don’t really work that well ‘cause they’re so old. You’ll need to start pedalling slower and squeeze the brakes, and then I usually slide my feet on the ground to help myself slow to a stop.”

He blinked. “What do you mean, your brakes _don’t work?_ I thought this was supposed to be safe!”

“It is! A lot of people have broken or missing parts. Riding a fully functional bike doesn’t count as a true biking experience, don’t worry.” The box was thrown in a nearby recycling bin before she stepped next to him to put her hands on his shoulders. “Alright, so at first you’re going to pedal slowly and I’m going to help you stay upright. I won’t let go, okay? We’re just going to go around the park.”

“Wait, what? Now?”

“Uh, yeah? When else, silly?”

This was happening too quickly for Adrien, but he reluctantly nodded. “You promise you won’t let go?”

“I promise, _chaton_.”

“Alright.” His foot hesitantly pressed down on a pedal and the bike squeaked, rolling forward a few inches. Marinette helped him balance himself so that he could lift his other foot off the ground and push the other pedal. The bike jerked forward but he stayed upright, gripping tightly. “Whoah!”

“You’ve got it! Keep going!”

He smiled at the encouragement and pressed again with his first foot, and then again with his second. Marinette was still mostly responsible for keeping him from falling, but he slowly began to circle the perimeter of the park. A part of him was anxious that others would be watching, but the thrill of the bushes and trees passing by him was too exciting to let himself get distracted. He was riding a bike! “I’m doing it!”

“You’re doing great, Adrien!”

The smooth walking path made pedalling easy, and he started to pedal faster. Marinette shuffled, then began to jog to keep up. “If you go faster I can’t hold on,” she yelped, stumbling over her feet as he went around a bend.

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it! Let go!”

She laughed and finally released his shoulders. Without the resistance the bike flew forward. Adrien was filled with glee as he spun around the last curve in the park and began making his way back toward the entrance. Marinette had been right, it was easy enough once he had built up some momentum. He could hear her running behind him now, still cheering.

“Look at you! You’re riding a bike!”

“I’m riding a bike!”

He took one more lap around the park and then decided to stop before he pressed his luck too far. He shifted his hands to reach the brakes and pressed them. Like Marinette had promised, his bike began to slow but didn’t jerk him to a stop. The handles tilted wildly under his hands for a moment from the grab, but he quickly righted himself. Marinette had caught up at this point and was gesturing toward his feet. “No brakes!”

“Right.” His feet hit the ground harder than he meant for them to, but the friction of his sneakers against the pavement helped him slide to a quick stop. The bike came to rest right before a bench where a couple was sitting. They smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up. He returned it.

“Adrien!” There was a tight squeeze against his abdomen and he looked down to see Marinette giving him a strong hug. He smiled and awkwardly patted her arms while extracting himself from the bike. It loudly collapsed to the ground, but neither of them cared. “That was so awesome! How did it feel?”

“It was… really nice! I definitely need to practice more before going out on the roads or anything, but I’m glad you convinced me to try this. You were an excellent teacher. Can we try again some other time?”

“Absolutely! Now are you ready for our picnic?” She flashed him a mischievous look. “I want to introduce you to one more thing.”

-

Marinette whooped as they flew down the path lining the Seine. Adrien’s grip was almost painful on her shoulders, but she could hear him laughing behind her as well. They had dug up her mother’s old helmet to double-up on the bike. Marinette was steering and Adrien was holding on behind her with his feet on the back wheel hub. He had been anxious at first, but now they were both dizzy and elated as the river sped past them.

“Up there! Up there!” Adrien yelled in her ear. His fingers were still tight on her shirt, and she assumed that he didn’t feel sturdy enough to lift a hand and point. She scanned the area ahead and found a small bench and grassy area right next to the river bank on their right.

“I see it!”

The bike zoomed over and she began to squeeze on the brakes as they rolled down a slight hill. Adrien held her closer as the momentum shifted but was silent as she slammed her shoes down to break their slide. The bike tilted dangerous to the right as they turned, but it gradually rolled to a stop in the grass. Adrien slumped over her shoulder. “Marinette, oh my god. That was so much fun. Why don’t we do that all the time?”

She booped his nose. “Because of a certain mothman we hate. But we can do it more often! I didn’t know if you would like it or not, and honestly I had forgotten I had a bike. I should really start riding it to school again.” Their food had somehow remained in the basket, and she passed the bag to Adrien as he hopped off the back of the bike. “It would keep me from having to sprint after sleeping in.”

“You know, you could just not sleep in.”

“Yeah, but what’s the fun in that?”

They spread the blanket out on the grass and set up their lunches- plain baguettes, small salads, and an orange to split. Plagg and Tikki were content to stay in the bike basket and hang out, and Marinette didn’t disturb them. She enjoyed being alone with Adrien. Well, as alone as they could be with two tiny gods always keeping them company.

Adrien had already scarfed down half of his lunch, moaning in delight. “I don’t understand,” he grumbled, mouth full of food. “Why would you ever leave your place to get food? You could eat this great all the time. I’d never stop eating.” 

Crumbs trickled down his shirt and she reached over to shake the fabric and knock them off. “You have a _chef_. And you’re going to choke if you keep eating like that.”

“At least I’d die doing what I love. Eating food made by the Dupain-Cheng’s.”

She swatted playfully at him before digging into her own lunch. They mostly ate in silence, taking in the moment. The sky was beautiful and the park they had found was surprisingly clear of tourists. They were sitting near a bush of flowers she found absolutely lovely, and they had sat as close to the river as possible. It would have been nicer without the gates blocking them from falling in, but she still appreciated being near it. Adrien seemed to catch her gaze. “Wonder if it’ll ever be clean enough to swim in?”

That made her laugh. “I’d say when pigs fly, but that might actually happen with some of the weird akumas Papillon has made. Still, it’s pretty. If it wouldn’t definitely give me E. coli, I’d jump in.”

“I’ve never gone swimming anywhere that wasn’t a pool,” Adrien admitted. “Not saying that I’d swim in the Seine- that’s nasty. But it would be cool to find a lake or something and get in. Nino’s family goes rafting a lot at Cergy-Pontoise. It sounds fun.”

Marinette felt a pang of sympathy in her chest. “You didn’t get to do much fun stuff as a kid, huh? Or now.”

“I mean, I hung out with Chloe some. We would go shopping together or goof off during big social events. That was fun.”

“Yeah, but that’s not…” She sat up straight, grabbing his hands. “Have you ever used roller blades? Tried using a pogo-stick? Jump roped? Climbed something you weren’t supposed to?” He frowned and wiggled his ring finger. “Obviously _not _as Chat Noir. Like I used to try and climb this giant tree in the park across from my house. I wasn’t supposed to but I did it anyway, and I ended up falling and breaking my arm. Anything like that?”

He paused to think. “Hmm. I was allowed to go ice skating some, but not much. And I did fencing. That’s about it.”

“That’s it, then.”

“What is?”

She stood up and brushed fake dust off her pants for the dramatic flair. Her hands slammed on her hips and she puffed out her chest. “I have decided what our next few dates will be. You and I will be giving Adrien Agreste a childhood. And we’ll start with rollerblading.”

“Really?” Adrien didn’t get up, but he looked overjoyed. She really did get lucky. He was so cute. “Can we really?”

“Really really. Hold on, I have some paper in my purse.” The notepad was resting next to the two kwamis in the bike basket, and she waved at them before reaching in to grab it. “Let’s come up with a list of things you’ve always wanted to do but never got the chance to. We can go ahead and write down riding a bike, and put a check next to it.” She sat down next to him and started scribbling in her lap. “What else would you like to do?”

“I love you.”

“Okay, I love y-” She stopped writing, realizing what he had said. Her cheeks were probably burning. It didn’t matter how long they dated, he always took her breath away when he said that. And he was giving her such a soft look, how could she not turn into a romantic puddle in front of him? She smiled. “I love you, too. What was that for?”

Adrien scooted closer. “Nothing. I just love you, and I like to say it.” The peck on her cheek was unexpected and she felt her face grow hotter. “Plus you’ve been showing off all day; it’s fun to make you blush.”

“I’m not-!” He was already laughing at her. “Okay, hot-shot. For real, we need to make this list.” She pushed forward onto her stomach so that she could write on the ground, and she used her legs to shove him over. “What do you want to add?”

He wriggled over next to her and leaned closer to see what she was writing. “Alright, alright. I was thinking we could add…”


	2. Manhunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oops my hand slipped, no longer a one-shot

Adrien covered his mouth with his hand, trying to quiet his breathing. He was hiding behind a bench in the park near Marinette’s house. The park was silent save for one other figure creeping through the grass, rustling the bushes. Adrien had been doing his own search here and had frantically run for cover as soon as he heard the other person approaching. They stepped closer and Adrien curled tighter, praying that he wasn’t visible. It felt like his heart would beat out of his chest from nerves. Surely they would notice him. They stopped at the other side of the bench and stopped. Adrien took his chance.

“Gotcha!”

He leapt over the back of the bench and tackled the figure, who promptly screamed. The pair tumbled to the ground and rolled across the dirt, wrestling with each other as they went. Soon they were sprawled in the middle of the park. Adrien swiftly rose to his knees to shuffle closer to his friend’s prone body. Nino just stared up at him, jaw wide. “Where did you even _come _from?”

He laughed and offered a hand. “I had to jump behind that bench over there when you showed up, and then you stood right in front of it.” They both stood up and began brushing dirt off their clothes. Adrien faltered as he saw grass stains on his pants. “Oh. Oops.”

Nino winced. “Oh, geez. Is there any chance your old man won’t notice?”

“If I can convince Nathalie to wash them and not tell him, maybe. She lets things slide sometimes. Hopefully she’ll take pity on me.” Talking about his father always made him tense, so he looked around and tried to change the topic of conversation. “So, did you see anyone else here? I couldn’t find anyone.”

“Nah, there’s no one else here. But I’m on your team now. Where should we look, oh mighty capitaine?”

Adrien stood up straight and saluted. “Well, lieutenant, I have no idea. This was my only idea. Alas, we are stranded.”

“Never fear, I know exactly where to search. To Collège Françoise Dupont!”

The two boys raced out of the park and began making their way to the school. The sun had set hours ago and the streets were mostly empty. Adrien had proposed manhunt as a date idea for Marinette’s list a few weeks ago, and she had been working tirelessly on getting everyone’s schedules to align to make it work. Technically Adrien was at a study group right now. Marinette had argued that he _was _studying- studying how to have fun. As long as Papillon didn’t interrupt they would be fine for a few hours.

Manhunt wasn’t necessarily a two-person activity, but Alya and Nino had readily agreed to make it a double date. Kim and Ondine had considered but ultimately bailed to help Max with some video game testing. Still, four people were more than enough. They had started in the bakery and split about ten minutes ago with simple rules.

They had to stay within a reasonable distance.

No going inside of buildings.

Once you’re tagged, you’re on that team. Someone wins when every player is on their team.

Marinette isn’t allowed to win.

Marinette hadn’t agreed to the last rule, but the other three had made an unofficial pact that no matter who won, it couldn’t be her. Adrien was confused until Nino ranted about childhood games she had ‘ruined’ with her competitive nature. Alya claimed that Kim even had a scar from an old game of freeze tag. It was probably meant to scare him, but it only left Adrien really wanting to learn more about Kim and Marinette’s childhood friendship. Every story about them ended with some kind of injury.

“There!” Nino whispered, tugging Adrien behind a street lamp. The school was a few meters ahead. It looked almost eerie in the dark with its long columns and vast stairs. He realized now why so many students avoided this place outside of school hours. Nino’s finger distracted him, and he followed the direction it was pointing until his gaze landed on a bush near the staircase. He almost missed it, but the bush rustled. Tiny shoes were poking out of the bottom. “Alya. She picks this spot _every time_. I really don’t think she gets this game.”

Adrien kept his voice low. “There’s no way she isn’t already on Marinette’s team. She has to be nearby. You go for Alya, I’ll search around for Mari.”

“You sure you want to split up? What if Marinette tags you?”

“Trust me,” he reassured. He was pretty sure he knew all of her tricks. “I can handle it.”

“Well, that’s certainly ominous. Alright then.”

They fist-bumped before scurrying off in different directions- Adrien to the right, Nino to the left. Adrien had a hunch that Marinette might be behind the school. As Ladybug she preferred distance attacks, and he assumed that she would strategize similarly for their game. Find a secluded spot, wait for someone to approach, then ambush them when they aren’t expecting it. It was a good move.

He reached the edge of the front of the building and peered around the other side. No dice. There were a few bushes here and there, but all were clear of his girlfriend. It was quick work to slink down the side to face the field behind the school. He could see the empty jungle gym, a solemn-looking track field, and a whole bunch of loose dirt and grass. _Huh_. He took a few steps to look closer, disappointed that his hunch had been incorrect.

“Up here!”

The frantic whisper startled him, and he looked up to see Marinette above him. On the roof. She was gripping the edge and leaning over to get his attention.

“What are you _doing _up there? How…?”

She pointed to a ladder closer to the back doors of the school. “I think there’s a camera, but if you jump past the first two rungs you can dodge it. Get up here, I want to show you something!”

“No way!” he whispered back. A quick look around ensured that Nino hadn’t caught Alya yet. Or that they were making out in the bush. Both options were plausible. Either way, he couldn’t confirm that Nino was still on his team. “You’re just tricking me to get me on your team and win! Why don’t _you _come down _here?_”

“Would I lie to you?”

“To win? Yes. Definitely.”

She huffed and held up her pinky. “Look, I promise not to tag you while you climb up, alright? I just… I thought that the stars were pretty and wanted to look at them with you. Stargazing is also on our list, remember? And the view up here is incredible…”

There it was. Her puppy dog eyes. Adrien groaned and ran his fingers through his hair. This felt like a trap, but then again, he did like to look at the stars with his lady. It would be fun to do it de-transformed. The small frown on her face tugged at his heart, and so did the slight watering of her eyes. “Okay! Okay, I’m coming. Tone down the theatrics, you’re not dying.”

“Yay! I’ll come help you.”

Clearing the first two ladder rungs was easier with her yanking him up, and soon he had joined her on the roof. Marinette’s small backpack was off to their right, along with a smile pile of crumbs. He laughed softly. “Were you just up here snacking while we ran around?”

She had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. “I mean, I wanted to give you all a chance to enjoy the game before I won.”

“Wow, my lady, you really are competitive. I’ve seen it in the suit but not as much like this. Nino was right.”

“Nino can eat my shorts.” He choked at the aggressive tone in her voice. She immediately spluttered. “I mean- I- he-... Actually, you know what? No, I stand by what I said. Nino can eat my shorts. I came to win, not make friends. Everyone else needs to step up their game.”

They strolled over to her bag and sat down, and Marinette flopped onto her back. He awkwardly leaned down as well and she quickly shifted over to press their shoulders together. Fingers laced between his as she grabbed his hand. There was a moment of silence as they both gazed upward, and then she broke it. “So what constellations do you know?”

“Hmm. The Twins, obviously. The Charioteer. I really liked learning about Cassiopeia last year. The story was a bit sad, but I was glad that Andromeda ended up getting rescued. I have more trouble picking that one out since the picture isn’t a super clear one, though.”

“Yeah, it’s kind of like a fun puzzle, huh? And it’s cool learning about the stories. I liked our astronomy unit.”

“Me too.”

Marinette’s phone buzzed and made them both jump. She apologized and rolled away to check it. There was a small giggle, and he heard her talking under her breath as she texted the person back. He felt his suspicion returning. Marinette never checked her phone while they were on a date unless it was an emergency. “Who was that?”

“Oh! No one.” The phone was put away and she squeezed herself against him again. Before he could question further she pointed above them. “Do you see the constellation there?”

Adrien squinted at the sky. He could see a few stars, but the light pollution from the city erased most of the view. He wasn’t sure what she was referring to. “What constellation?”

“There’s a group of stars that looks like a croissant. It’s not an official constellation, but my father named it ‘Le Croissant Roi.’ You like croissants a lot so I thought I’d point it out.” Her head leaned against his shoulder and she waved the finger around as if to more clearly point out where she was looking. “Right there. See?”

It just looked like stars to him. “Uh… no, sorry.”

She hummed, then flinched as her phone buzzed. “Wait, let me check this real quick.” Again she rolled away until she was done responding. Another small laugh, and then she was back. Adrien bit his lip. She was definitely up to something. “Sorry, I’m done now. Okay, so what about… oh! The egg constellation!”

“_Egg _constellation?” 

“Yeah? I must have forgotten to point it out to you during night patrols. Look.” This time she gently grabbed his chin with her free hand and turned his face to the left before pointing. “_Right there_. There’s five stars, they make kind of a circle? But it’s more like an egg shape. Hence, egg. You have to see this one.”

The slight teasing tilt to her voice was putting him on edge, but he didn’t want to ruin the moment. Unfortunately, he couldn’t see anything resembling what she had described. “I don’t… sorry. I’ve never heard of an egg constellation. Your dad make this one up, too?”

“Actually, I did, when I was five. Alright, let’s do one more.” Her phone vibrated again and she paused to check it. She didn’t text the person back this time, but she did grin. “Yeah, one more should do it.”

“What?”

“What about the… uh… ladybug constellation?”

That was it. He rolled onto his side to face her, being careful not to squish their entwined hands beneath him. “You definitely just made that up. What are you up to?”

Instead of turning red at being caught like she normally does, Marinette winked at him. “I don’t know, kitty, what _am _I up to?”

There was cursing off to his left, and he sat up to see Nino rolling onto the roof. Alya climbed up behind him. Even in the dark, Adrien could see hickies covering Nino’s neck. Nino looked mad, but Alya was almost strutting as she made her way over to Marinette. “Game over,” she announced.

Adrien shook his head. “What? I still haven’t caught Marinette yet. We have a truce right now.”

“Nope,” Marinette giggled. “I said I wouldn’t tag you _while you climb up_. We’re up now, silly boy.” Then she squeezed his hand. The hand that she had grabbed, Adrien realized, _after _the truce had ended. “I tagged you awhile ago. I just needed to stall to give Alya enough time to tag Nino without him realizing it.”

Nino stomped over, scowling. “I don’t know why I thought Alya and I could actually have a nice time while Marinette was playing. Those kisses were a lie.”

“They were not! I love you, Nino! Those kisses were a gift, just… one with some strings attached.”

“Anyway,” Marinette interrupted. “I won, just like I knew I would. And because I am such a gracious winner, I brought snacks to celebrate. There’s a bin of cookies in my bag.”

Nino’s anger magically disappeared as he snatched her bag away, digging around inside for the goodies. Adrien was still lost, though. “Wait. Alya, we had all agreed not to let Marinette win. Why didn’t you let Nino tag you so you could join my team?”

She threw an arm around Marinette and cheekily grinned at him. “My girl comes before anyone else, Adrien. You should know that by now. And she would have won, anyway. If you can’t beat them, join them.”

Marinette squeezed his hand once more before letting go to grab her bag back from Nino. The two wrestled over it for a bit before she got the upper hand and kicked him off. “Save enough for everybody, Nino! Don’t hog the cookies!”

“I _deserve _them! I was the victim of an undercover operation that took advantage of my love for my girlfriend!”

“Don’t be such a baby!” 

After the treats were handed out and eaten, all four teens sprawled across the roof to look up at the sky. Adrien couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. He loved being able to spend time with Marinette and his friends, and the cookies had come from the bakery- naturally, they had been amazing.

Marinette’s foot bumped against his. They were closer to each other than to the others, and she dropped her voice to keep their conversation private. “So? How was manhunt?”

“It was perfect, Mari. I’m gonna win next time, though.”

“You can certainly dream. But I’m glad you had fun. I haven’t played this in so long, I forgot how much I liked it. We should try this again sometime but with the entire class. Alix would _kill_.”

A thought popped up in Adrien’s head and he snorted. “Honestly? I think Juleka would win. And it would be by accident. Like when we play dodgeball and no one thinks to hit her until she’s the last one on the team. I know she gets frustrated by it, but it would be like a superpower for this game.”

“_Oooh _you’re right! And Rose is sneaky, they would make a good team. Them and Nathaniel.” They both chuckled, tapping their feet together again. “So I know you’re busy with that ad campaign next week, and we’ll see each other at patrol that weekend, but I was wondering if you had time off that next week after school? Maybe we could do something on our list?”

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that. I… kind of… made my own list. For you?”

She pushed herself up on an elbow to look down at him, her face puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“The list you made just got me thinking. I _love _going through the list with you and doing all these fun things, but I also know that you’re interested in the fashion industry and that you haven’t had too many opportunities to explore it. With me being a model and my father being who he is… I sort of came up with a list of things I do a lot in my modeling career that you might want to come and try. Or just come and observe. Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

Her eyes were wide, and she lightly touched his arm. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah! Like there’s some stuff for the ad campaign that’s private, but there’ll be a press event that Friday so fashion reporters can see the line, ask the designers questions, all that stuff. I’m expected to be there but I always find it boring. I thought I’d ask father to see if you could be my plus one. Or we could do something else! If you don’t want to-”

The breath was knocked out of him as Marinette threw herself on his chest. “Yes! Yes, that would be amazing! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love you! You’re the best boyfriend in the world!”

“I’m literally right here,” Nino grumbled.

She blushed and got back off of him. “Sorry, we were louder than I thought. You’re a great boyfriend, too, Nino.”

“Can vouch,” Alya added.

Marinette giggled again and wrapped herself around Adrien’s arm. “Adrien, I would love that. Thank you. What’s on your list?”

“Well,” he started. “There’s a lot. For starters, I was thinking that you might really like…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still not sure if/when i'll continue this, but i think it would be cute to have marinette learn some fashion stuff as well :)
> 
> thank you all for the comments and kudos on chapter 1 <3 
> 
> as always you can find me on [tumblr](https://noaoats.tumblr.com/)!

**Author's Note:**

> ... so what do you think should go on the list? what should Adrien learn how to do next?
> 
> I'm still not sure if I'll leave this as a one-shot or not, but if anyone has really cute ideas for future Adrienette dates I could probably add more. Thanks for reading! :)


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